gouge out

verb

gouged out; gouging out; gouges out
1
: to remove (something) by digging or cutting
The impact of the accident gouged a big piece out of the wall.
He threatened to gouge my eyes out.
2
: to make (a hole or path) by digging or cutting
The river gouged out a wide path between the mountains.

Examples of gouge out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But in reality, the carving occurs in fits and spurts, when floods carry huge boulders that gouge out streambeds and jam cobbles into the bedrock. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026 Plus hunting, camping, hiking and dudes gouging out gators' eyeballs, too. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026 By gouging out a huge hole in the north, the impact would have facilitated the release of a lot of internal heat, allowing the northern mantle to cool faster than the south. — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 31 Aug. 2026 The butterflies have been making this migration for as long as 20 millennia, once finding paths to and from the fields gouged out by glaciers retreating with the spring during the last Ice Age. — Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for gouge out

Rhymes for gouge out

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Browse Nearby Words

gougelhof
gouge out
gouger
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Cite this Entry

“Gouge out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gouge%20out. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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